The results for this year's council elections for Surf Coast Shire have finally been announced by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) and made official. 4 new faces, and 5 re-elected;
- Otway Ranges Ward: Libby Stapleton, Leon Walker, Mike Bodsworth
- Torquay Ward: Liz Pattison, Rebecca Bourke, Paul Barker
- Winchelsea Ward: Joel Grist, Tony Phelps, Adrian Schonfelder.
All councillors now need to go through a 2-week induction at the shire offices in Torquay, during which a new mayor is elected. One of the first orders of business will be a new (and mandatory) 4-year Council Plan, and community (your!) input will kicking off very soon apparently. It will be interesting to see if and how council directions and priorities change as the Council Plan is developed (should be 'done' by July 2025). Be sure to take your opportunities to feed into it, including contacting councillors directly.
With a touch under 84% of people sending in a vote, that means around 1700 people will need to explain why they didn't vote. An almost-literal silver lining (for those who voted, at least!) is that the $99 fine goes to Surf Coast Shire coffers.
I would personally like to thank all those that helped me in my quest, and commiserations to the candidates that didn't make it. There is much misunderstanding about the role of councillor, and as a public office it certainly seems to generate some undue and unfair attention, so it is a big step to announce candidacy. I'm looking forward to representing Surf Coast Shire and the Winchelsea Ward in particular. Council make-up looks promising, it's going to be an interesting ride! Well done and congratulations to all the new 4-year term's councillors, I look forward to working together.
I would also like to personally thank outgoing/retiring councillors Heather Wellington and Rose Hodge, who leave big shoes to fill. They've been very accessible to our communities over the years, and while I haven't agreed with all their points of view, they have shown by example how to put their views across and hold constructive 'robust debate' with integrity.
Watch this space for future articles, I'm keen to open up 2-way communication between the community and those they've chosen to represent them in local government. Contact details will be sorted out next week (email, phone, etc). In the meantime feel free to join me on Facebook at
facebook.com/tonyphelps4winchelseaward
